The blood of Jesus Christ is the most precious and wonderful thing for a Christian, who has been born-again, through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that means more to us, as children of God, than the blood that Christ shed (poured out) for us as He was dying on the cross.
When Jesus cried out from the cross that “it was finished”, He was announcing that His suffering and His shed blood had completely paid for my sinful nature and for all my individual sins. There was nothing left to do, so He took His last breath, said it was finished, and died.
Therefore, we want to consider and understand what His pure and righteous blood accomplished for us.
1. It destroyed our sinful nature (the old man)!
Romans 6:6-7: For we know that our old sinful nature (old man) was crucified with Christ, so that the body ruled by sin might be destroyed, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
The blood of Jesus provided the power to literally destroy our old sinful natures, which we refer to as the “old Man” living inside each lost-unconverted soul, at the point in time, he or she asks Jesus to save them. Nothing else in God’s creation could put our “old man” to death. Nothing else had the power to overcome the “old man”...only the blood of Jesus.
2. It washed away all our sins forever!
Hebrews 9:14: How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
After destroying “our old man”, the blood of Jesus literally washed away all the sins, which we had committed or would commit in the future. The blood of Jesus washed and cleansed us from all sins, across the scope of our sinful living....from a single wrong thought to murder, blasphemy, and unbelief.
3. It made us whole and complete!
Colossians 2:10: For all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in the body of Jesus and you are complete in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power.
The blood of Jesus literally made us whole and complete again, as human beings created in the image of God. After being cleansed by the holy and pure blood of Christ, we lack nothing in the sight of God. We are ready to stand before Him in the righteousness of His Son...Jesus Christ.
4. It paid the sin-debt we owed to God.
Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.
The blood of Jesus paid the sin-debt we owed to God the Father, which we could never pay in a trillion years on our own. The sins of commission and omission could never be paid by someone with their own sins.
Our sin-debt could only be paid by someone who was righteous and pure and perfect Himself, with no sins of His own to deal with. Only a morally and spiritually, perfect person could offer up His own blood as payment and ransom for our sins and sinful nature. Jesus Christ is the only person in all of history who was spiritually and morally perfect.
5. It gave us the essence of Christ’s eternal! life!
John 15:13: No one has greater love than this, than to lay down
his/her life for a friend. Jesus made a once-in-for-all blood donation that we might have the chance to extend our lives forever...eternal life.
Whenever someone donates their blood, they are literally giving up the essence of their life (a part of their life) to another person, so that person might live. This sacrifice a person makes, which includes temporary pain and loss, ends up providing the greater gain of another person....which extends their life.
Jesus gave up His pure, innocent blood, so that we might live forever with God in Heaven. Without His shed blood, we would have to live in Hell forever and ever.
Matthew 26:28: This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
6. It provided a blood transfusion!
Ephesians 1:7: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.
If you have no blood running through your veins, then you have no life in you. You are physically dead. If you have blood tainted by sin (affected by your sinful nature) running through your veins, then you are spiritually dead and separated from God.
If you put your faith in Jesus Christ and ask Him to save you from your sinfulness and cleanse you from all your sins, Jesus will give you, what we will call a spiritual blood transfusion.
His blood will begin flowing spiritually through your spirit and soul, which illustrates how spiritually...you are now a blood relative to the Lord Jesus and His heavenly Father. The blood of Jesus is how we are bonded to the Heavenly Father forever and ever.
7. The blood of Jesus is what gives us moral and spiritual freedom.
Revelation 1:5-6: Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To
Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and
has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and
Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
The blood of Jesus is what gives us moral and spiritual freedom...the ability to what is good and right in any given situation at any given time.
The shed blood of Christ is an actual spiritual weapon (the ultimate weapon), believers can use to resist and to overcome the devil's accusations, influences, attacks, deceptions, etc... We have the authority to resist and rebuke demonic forces when they attack us or tempt us or try to deceive us...through the name and blood of Jesus Christ.
James 4:7: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 Peter 5:9: Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
Acts 16:18: She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
Revelation 12:11: They triumphed over him (the devil and demonic forces) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
8. The blood of Jesus is what frees us from the fear of death and being separated from God in a state of eternal punishment.
We have been justified by Jesus’ blood and saved from the wrath of God, because our innocent savior received the eternal punishment we deserved. Like the great old hymn says, “Jesus Paid It all!”
Hebrews 2:14-15: Since then...the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
Colossians 1:20: And through Jesus, God reconciled to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through Jesus’ blood, that He shed on the cross.
Hebrews 9:22: In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
2 Timothy 1:7: For God did not give us a spirit of fear. He gave us the spirit of power and love and self-control.
We no longer have to live with the bondage and condemnation
of sin hanging over our heads. We are free from all guilt! We share in and live in Christ’s purity and victory and freedom.
John 8:36: So...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
1 Corinthians 15:57: But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word “justified” means...”Having or shown to have a just, right, or reasonable basis”.
This means we have been made right by the blood of Jesus. What our sins made wrong, that caused us to be guilty before God, Jesus blood made right before God. God declares us to right and good and pure in and through the blood of Jesus Christ.
A Simple Illustration Or Analogy
Imagine you were sentenced to prison and then to death. In a gut-wrenching moment you realized that you really were guilty, you could not pay your way out of this situation, smooth talk your way out of it, or argue your way out of it.
As you were pondering your hopeless situation, a man unknown to you, with a perfect track record and who never did anything wrong...approached the judge overseeing your case.
He said to the judge, that he would like to take your place. So the guards bound him in chains, that were meant to be yours. Then the court officials mocked him, beat him, and ultimately executed him...instead of you. After he was dead, the judge ordered you to be freed and released to go home.
This is what Jesus did for you through His bloody death. You no longer have the weight of guilt and punishment from your sins, hanging over your head and torturing your conscience. By Jesus’ great love and mercy, you have forever been set free.
Romans 5:9: Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!
9. The blood of Jesus was perfect, which means it represents the spotless, sinless life lived by Jesus Christ, which qualified Him to offer up His life as the one to be punished for our sins and transgressions. There was no one else.
The blood He shed for us was pure and unblemished (without the minutest taint of sin in it), so it only had to be offered for us once and for all. It was also perfect in that it was complete. During His life from birth to death on the cross, Jesus never sinned even one time, whether in thought, attitude, or action. His blood provides a complete salvation from our sin. His body bled out for us, until He finally cried out to His Father...it is finished! Our salvation was finished!
Hebrews 9:14: How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The word in the verse above translated “unblemished” is the Hebrew word tamiym, which has these usages across the Old Testament:
Complete, Whole, Entire, Sound
a. complete, whole, entire, to be finished
b. whole, sound, healthful, without defect
c. complete, entire (of time)
d. sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
e. what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact (neuter adj/subst)
If Jesus’ blood had any taint or blemish or moral flaw from sin in it, He could have never paid for our sin. We would have no hope and would be destined for eternal punishment. But on the contrary, His pure and perfect blood made us morally and spiritually whiter than snow. Praise be to God!
Consider these Scriptures!
1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that it was not with perishable things like as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Hebrews 9:22: In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
After becoming a Christian, literally a born-again child of God, there may be times in your life, that you do not feel pure or righteous or clean...but take heart and remember Jesus suffered and bled for everyone of your sins, flaws, blemishes, shortcomings, and willfulness. He was punished for each and every one of your moral and spiritual failures. His holy blood washed them all away and made your perfectly clean on the inside.
Maybe this would be good time to thank Him for His complete salvation.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus...I thank you for your willingness to leave your throne in heaven and the fellowship you always had with your Father and the Holy Spirit...to come down to this earth where I lived as a guilty sinner - deserving eternal punishment in hell.
I thank you that you lived out the perfect life God intended me to have, so that you could voluntarily offer up your perfect life and your pure blood, as the payment for my sin nature and for each of the sins I have committed during my life.
Thank you for being my Lamb of God and for dying the death I deserved, so I could be saved forever and spend eternity with you and the Father and the Holy Spirit...AMEN!
One of the greatest hymns ever written is ‘NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS!' Read the words of this hymn and see if it deepens your gratefulness of Jesus’ suffering for you.
1 What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
O precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know;
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2 For my pardon this I see:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this my plea:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
3 Nothing can for sin atone:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
4 This is all my hope and peace:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness:
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain
United Methodist Hymnal, 1989
https://hymnary.org/text/what_can_wash_away_my_sin
Author: Robert Lowry
Robert Lowry was born in Philadelphia, March 12, 1826. His fondness for music was exhibited in his earliest years. As a child he amused himself with the various musical instruments that came into his hands. At the age of seventeen he joined the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, and soon became an active worker in the Sunday-school as teacher and chorister. At the age of twenty-two he gave himself to the work of the ministry, and entered upon a course of study at the University of Lewisburg, Pa. At the age of twenty-eight he was graduated with the highest honors of his class. In the same year of his graduation, he entered upon the work of the ministry. He served as pastor at West Chester, Pa., 1851-1858; in New York City, 1859-1861;
Thank you for the time and effort you took to read this devotion. I pray the Scriptures and the Truths you encountered will be an eternal blessing to your life. Next time, we will look at the parallels between the biological “blood markers” in our human blood and the spiritual “blood markers” in our Christian lives.
Yours in Christ,
Gene
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